Jan. 25, 2014

PRINCETON, N.J. - Junior Robert Hurlbut (Rochester, N.Y.) took home a first place finish in the 3000 meters and Villanova competed in six events at the Tiger Open on Saturday afternoon. A total of seven athletes were in competition for the Wildcats in the meet at Jadwyn Gym on the Princeton campus.

Hurlbut crossed the finish line with a winning time of 8:45.10 and paced a field of seven runners in the 3000 meters. The only other running event Villanova entered was the 60 meter hurdles, in which sophomore sprinter Aaron Sandifer (Harrisburg, N.C.) came in fourth with a time of 8.81. Sandifer began the day with a fifth place finish in the preliminary heat of the hurdles (9.00) before improving his time and moving up one spot in the final.

Senior Drew King (New Haven, Conn.) and sophomore James Rowen (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) each set personal bests in the weight throw. King finished in fourth place and threw for a distance of 15.06 meters, while Rowen came in fifth with a mark of 13.96 meters. Both surpassed their previous top throws from the Rutgers Invite earlier this month. Rowen also came in ninth in the shot put (11.57m).

In the pole vault senior Chris Dougherty (Cherry Hill, N.J.) had his second straight strong meet and came in fourth with a height of 4.65 meters. He followed up on the personal best performance of 4.80 meters that he had at the Great Dane Classic last week. Freshman Kolby Koeck (Altoona, Pa.) finished seventh in the pole vault with a height of 4.35 meters.

Junior Elbert Maxwell (Pittsburgh, Pa.) came in third in the long jump with a distance of 7.01 meters.

Villanova returns to action next weekend when it competes at the Penn State National.

COMPLETE VILLANOVA RESULTS

60 Meter Hurdles (Preliminaries)

Aaron Sandifer                 5th of 5                 9.00

60 Meter Hurdles (Finals)

Aaron Sandifer                 4th of 8                 8.81

3000 Meters

Robert Hurlbut                 1st of 7                 8:45.10

Pole Vault

Chris Dougherty                4th of 8                 4.65mKolby Koeck                    7th                      4.35m

Long Jump

Elbert Maxwell                 3rd of 8                 7.01m

Shot Put

James Rowen                    9th of 9                 11.57m

Weight Throw

Drew King                      4th of 8                 15.06mJames Rowen                    5th                      13.96m